


An "Experiment"

by CommanderTeatime



Category: Shadowhunters (TV)
Genre: Fluff, M/M, Non-Sexual Intimacy, Parabatai Bond, Tooth-Rotting Fluff
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-05-31
Updated: 2018-05-31
Packaged: 2019-05-16 07:05:45
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,003
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/14806649
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/CommanderTeatime/pseuds/CommanderTeatime
Summary: Jace interrupts Magnus's experiment on just how far the parabatai bond works. An experiment that Alec doesn't even know he's a part of.





	An "Experiment"

Alec watched as Magnus sat on the edge of his bed, well, their bed, and took off his rings with care. He put each one carefully in the jewelry dish on the nightstand as though they would break any other way. There was a grace in such simple movements that made Alec smile. It was strange to think that even something as simple as watching Magnus take off his rings made his heart pound a little faster in his chest. 

He sat up and Magnus turned around at the noise. He looked a little worried and Alec figured that he thought he was leaving for the Institute again. Instead, Alec wordlessly moved closer and unclasped one of Magnus’s necklaces. He handed the the chain to Magnus who exhaled with a smile. 

Magnus turned back and relaxed, feeling Alec’s fingers against his skin while he undid the next few necklaces. He moved the jewelry dish a little closer and let Alec place them among the other shiny objects. It was the only sound that filled the room. 

Alec pressed his lips to Magnus’s neck when he finished.

“Don’t think about it,” Magnus whispered, leaning back on his Shadowhunter. “If you leave me with a hickey, Alexander, I’ll…” 

He laughed, “You’ll what?” He let Magnus lean back into him and sighed.

The night was quiet and young. It was strange to be together and to be so tired already at nearly ten. It was a date night, but both of them were waiting for something to interrupt them like always. 

Alec knew that at the very least, no one would bring him back to the Institute, unless they managed to slip through Magnus’s wards outside of the loft. He had turned his phone off and left it under Magnus’s desk with his bow and quiver. To prove a point to Magnus, that he was his and his alone, he had already switched to his pajamas-- soft flannel sleep pants and a simple black T-shirt. Magnus in turn had snapped himself out of his own clothes and into royal purple silk pajamas. Of course, they weren’t just purple, they were decorated with little black roses. 

Suddenly, Alec went limp behind Magnus, letting himself hit the soft blankets. Almost as immediately as he did it, he felt Magnus sit up. Magnus put a hand on his chest, and looked down at him, Alec could see the ounce of worry in his eyes. It left in a blink and Magnus moved closer, lying next to Alec and draping his arm over him. 

“You never told me what had you so worried last night.” Magnus’s voice was soft, not wanting to destroy the comforting silence that had fallen over the loft. Alec could feel Magnus’s fingers tracing over his deflect rune carefully. 

Alec moved slightly so he could look at Magnus, but all he could see was the warlock’s hair. He moved his arm so he could awkwardly trace down Magnus’s back. “This morning, you mean?”

“Four in the morning is still last night.” Magnus muttered.

“Jace was doing something stupid.” Alec murmured with a small laugh. “I thought he hurt himself on patrol, but he tripped over a curb.” 

_ The Parabatai rune, _ Magnus reminded himself. He moved his hand slowly from Alec’s neck to his side and traced over the rune. “Can Jace feel this?” He asked. He had had a conversation with Jace once, about the rune. He had nearly given Magnus a heart attack by accidentally implying that Jace could feel when they were… intimate. Jace had sputtered out something like, “No, no, no, uh, I can just tell he’s happy.” and they left it at that while Magnus fed the neighborhood cats. 

“No,” Alec breathed, letting his eyes close. Magnus smiled, it had become apparent to him over time just how sensitive Alec’s runes were.

The warlock hummed softly and sat up. Alec opened his eyes to look up at Magnus, but before he could react, the warlock pounced and Alec immediately tensed as Magnus quickly wiggled his fingers, tickling him.

Alec squirmed in a fit of giggles. “M-Magnus, stop,” he breathed, trying to move away, but not applying too much effort.

“Can Jace feel this?” Magnus asked, a grin on his face as he continued. It had been so long since he heard Alec laugh like this, an honest, genuine laugh. He didn’t care that it was because of something as stupid as tickling. 

He let up after a few more seconds, just to give Alec the chance to catch his breath. Alec slid off of the bed and walked to the far side of the room, his arms protectively over his torso. 

“If Jace calls, you have to explain to him that it was you.” Alec said with an airy laugh. He carefully moved back to the bed, but when Magnus reached for him, he cautiously stood again. 

Magnus chuckled at that. “I’m not going to tickle you.” 

“Can I tickle you back?” Alec moved in a little closer. “Y’know, to make things equal?” 

“Alexander, I’m not ticklish.” Magnus let his head rest on his shoulder as he looked at his boyfriend with a smile. Alec knew that it was a statement, but to him, it sounded like a challenge. 

He relaxed a little and moved in closer to Magnus, so close that their noses almost touched. “Are you sure about that?” 

“Yes.” 

Alec pressed his lips to Magnus’s and felt him tense up. Before Magnus had the chance to melt into the kiss, Alec tried his best to tickle him. Magnus pulled away. 

“Do you feel foolish now?” Magnus asked.

“When you say it like that, you sound like a cartoon.” Alec laughed and pressed another quick kiss to Magnus’s lips. 

“A cartoon?” Magnus was obviously affronted by this connection. He was  _ not  _ a cartoon. He was very much alive. 

Alec huffed a soft laugh, “Beware, ye tiny mortals, the High Warlock of Brooklyn isn’t ticklish.” He awkwardly pressed Magnus down against the bed and kissed him. “Quiver in fear.” 

Magnus laughed. “Are you afraid?” He looked up into Alec’s eyes like he could stare into them for an eternity. Everything about him seemed soft in the dim light of the bedroom, only the chandelier above them was on. It almost looked like a halo over Alec’s head.

“Terrified.” 

Alec relaxed, and moved a little further down with each kiss. He moved from Magnus’s lips to his cheek, then his jaw. He pulled away for only a second after pressing a single kiss to Magnus’s neck. Magnus could feel Alec’s teeth gently touch his skin. 

“Alexander.” Magnus’s voice was soft, but had a bit of an argument in it. The way Alec was kissing him and touching him… it made it hard for him to think of some sort of punishment. Magnus knew he’d be fine with a love bite, even if he had a mess of clients to meet with the following day, even if he Catarina dumped Madzie off on him for a while. 

An idea suddenly came to him and Magnus let a smile spread across his face. 

“Alexander, if you give me a hickey, I’ll show it off to the whole Institute.” Magnus declared, letting his hand trail down his beloved’s back. 

He felt Alec pull back, but not enough to look at him. “You wouldn’t,” he said it like it was a fact, a simple statement that Magnus wouldn’t go to great lengths to show off a love bite.

“Think of your sister’s face when she sees me walk up to her with a hickey,” Magnus chuckled at the  _ thought _ of such a thing. He couldn’t wait to see Isabelle’s wide, dark eyes and the look she would give Alec in return.

“I’d rather not think about Izzy, right now.” Alec murmured softly into Magnus’s ear. 

There was a knock on the door frame and Alec pulled himself away from Magnus quickly, getting up on the other side of the bed. Slowly, Magnus sat up and turned to look at the doorway. 

“Sorry, to, uh, interrupt.” Jace’s wide eyes met Alec’s, his hand was over his parabatai rune. “I thought you were in danger, or something.” 

For once in his life, Alec didn’t blush, but Magnus did. The High Warlock of Brooklyn pressed his hands to his face and  _ lost it.  _ He laughed so hard he had to lay down against the bed, leaving both Shadowhunters absolutely entranced and worried for the sake of his sanity. 

“Were you two, uh--” Jace’s eyes were still on Magnus, but he wasn’t really looking at him. He was looking past him. Jace had transcended space and time into a new level of absolute embarrassment and shock. 

“No!” Alec’s voice was a little too strong. “No, we weren’t, uh.” He looked over to Magnus and waited for the warlock to settle down.  _ If Jace calls, you have to explain to him what happened. _ Alec smirked and let his hands rest at his sides. 

Magnus sat up and rubbed at the tears from his eyes. His makeup was smeared all over his face, but he still looked beautiful. He took a few panting breaths and cleared his throat, “We were testing the limits of the parabatai connection.” Magnus said simply, as though that was  _ really  _ what they had been doing.

Jace looked at Alec like he was a liar and Alec looked to Magnus with a slight bit of anger in his eyes. There was no way he could manipulate his way out of this one.

“Uh, I was tickling Alexander.” Magnus muttered, just enough for Jace to hear him. If the Shadowhunter didn’t get what he had said, there was no way he was going to repeat it. 

“You,” Jace paused, his eyes were now looking at Magnus, rather than past him. He looked confused, like their relationship was some sort of puzzle that he didn’t even comprehend the directions to. “You were tickling Alec.”

Alec remained still, almost like he was playing a game of statues. Magnus gave a small nod, a smile still on his face. 

“What did you feel?” Magnus asked, his smile was still there, but lesser now that Jace remained in the room. He was putting on half of his High Warlock of Brooklyn facade, the tough exterior that Alec could break with a smile. 

Jace swallowed thickly. “Uh, something like anxiety. A lot of it. I thought Alec was having a panic attack, or cornered.” He glanced at his parabatai before he quickly turned to the door. Before Jace took a step through the threshold, he turned back and met Magnus’s eyes. “Please, don’t give him a hickey.” He tapped the door frame and rushed down the stairs in his heavy boots. 

“Alexander,” Magnus’s voice was dark. He wondered if Alec had  _ really  _ given him a hickey, or if Jace had been there long enough to know what he was trying to do. 

Alec had already rushed after Jace before Magnus could say another word. Magnus relaxed against the soft blankets of his bed and listened as Alec and Jace exchanged a few words downstairs. It sounded like strong whispering, Magnus didn’t bother to listen in. He heard Jace laugh, then the door shut before Alec returned to him. 

Magnus’s Shadowhunter threw himself down on the bed beside Magnus and hid his face in the soft silk of Magnus’s pajama shirt before he pulled away. 

“Did you see his face?” Alec couldn’t help but smile. He put an arm over Magnus and moved slightly, just to see Magnus smile in return.

Magnus moved Alec’s arm, then rolled over. He moved gracefully, almost like a predator, pinning Alec to the bed. He kissed him, again, then again to his cheek, then his jaw, then his neck. 

“Magnus,” Alec’s voice was soft, he could feel it. 

He let his teeth touch Alec’s skin. 

Izzy was going to have the time of her life at the morning briefing. 

**Author's Note:**

> Come join me in malec hell at umbralogia.tumblr.com and please send me fic requests.


End file.
